Red Moscow

Although Luhansk will become an important battlefield in a few days, Sokov knows in his heart that it is still too early to adjust the actual deployment of troops at this moment.

Regardless of Rokossovsky's generosity, he immediately handed over three guard divisions and two tank brigades, as well as an artillery division and a rocket launcher battalion. But these troops are still on the way, and some are even in a state of assembly, and have not left the original defensive area. If the defense zone is vacated for them too early, once the battle starts, and they fail to arrive on the battlefield on time, then the defense system here may collapse.

It was precisely because of this consideration that Sokov said to Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we can divide the defense zones of the divisions on the map, but the troops in the existing defense zones will not be transferred. We must wait until the troops of the divisions arrive. Afterwards, it will not be too late to hand over the troops originally stationed for defense."

Witkov thought for a while, and immediately understood Sokov's intentions. He nodded and asked, "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, which division do you plan to use to defend the city?"

"Colonel Gorishny's 75th Guards Division," Gorishny's troops suffered heavy losses in the early battles. Although they have been supplemented, most of the supplementary soldiers are recruits with no combat experience. Sokov was worried about putting them outside the city to fight the German army, so he decided to let them stay in the city and rely on the newly built fortifications to fight street battles with the enemies who rushed into the city. However, he had another reason in front of everyone: "This division has experience in street fighting in Stalingrad. I think it would be most suitable for them to serve as defensive missions in the city."

As the former deputy chief of staff of the 62nd Army, Vitkov naturally agreed with Sokov's arrangement: "Well, that's right, the Gorishny Division once fought in Stalingrad for three months, and their division came It should be very appropriate to serve as the defense of the city."

"What about the 67th and 71st Guards Divisions?"

"General Merkulov," since Merkulov, the commander of the 67th Guards Division, is here, Sokov still wants to ask the other party for his opinion before assigning the task to see if he has any ideas: "I plan to Deploy your division and the 71st Guards Division to the north or south of the city, I would like to ask you, what position do you think is more appropriate to place your division?"

"Comrade Commander," unexpectedly Merkulov asked: "Why should we be placed on the north or south of the city? You must know that there are friendly troops stationed in these two directions. If our division deploys I’m afraid we won’t be able to win battles here, and I’m afraid the commanders and fighters will have opinions.”

"General Merkulov," Sokov felt that some words must be made clear to these subordinates, lest they have any ideas: "According to my judgment, if the German army wants to attack Luhansk, their main attack will be from the west. The direction. My 41st Guards Division is best at defensive warfare. We are responsible for the defense in this direction, which can completely block the enemy's attack. The reason why you are deployed in the north and south directions is to protect our division. The flanks were not attacked by the Germans."

Merkulov stood beside Sokov, staring at the map for a long time, and finally said: "Comrade Commander, judging from the situation of the enemy and ourselves on the map, it is very likely that the German army will launch an attack from the southwest. Look, let my division be stationed here to cover your left flank."

Sokov has seen the battle of the 67th Guards Division with his own eyes, and he still has a certain understanding of the division's combat effectiveness. Moreover, based on the analysis of various signs, the German army will definitely attack Luhansk after defeating the Southwest Front Army. In addition to the due west, the southwest direction may also be the focus of the German army's attack. It is absolutely necessary to keep a trustworthy army.

"Okay," Sokov said to Merkulov, standing up straight, "then I will leave the defense of the south of the city to you. In the nearby town of Bile, a regiment of the 379th Infantry Division is stationed. , you must establish contact with them as soon as possible so that when the battle starts, you can cooperate with each other."

After sending away Merkulov and others, Vitkov pointed to several defensive positions on the map, and asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade commander, what do these troops do? I remember that you seem to There aren't that many tanks and artillery, are there?"

Bely, who was on the side, heard Vitkov's question, laughed and pulled up, and explained: "Comrade Chief of Staff, our division does not have that many artillery and tanks. What you see are all fakes prepared by us for the German army." position."

"False position?" Witkov asked puzzledly, "Is this necessary?"

"It's absolutely necessary." Bely continued: "A few days ago when the German army launched an attack from the west of the city, they took one of our false positions as a real position and concentrated artillery fire for a long time. If there were no false positions, then the The bombarded position is bound to cause great casualties to our army."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think that within a few days, the German army will launch a large-scale attack on Luhansk. If we don't set up more false positions to share the enemy's firepower, I am afraid that many commanders and fighters will be killed or killed in the The enemy is shelling and bombing." Sokov emphasized: "We also need to let the divisions build more such fake fortifications to confuse the enemy."

"What scale do you think will be fought if there is a real fight here in Luhansk?" Witkov tentatively asked Sokov: "Do you think there will be another city battle like Stalingrad?"

"No, there will never be an urban offensive and defensive battle like Stalingrad." Sokov explained: "First, the city of Lugansk is too small to hoard too many troops; second, the city is not like the With our backs against the river like Stalingrad, once the Germans turn around from both wings, we may soon fall into the enemy's encirclement."

"How about the material reserves in the city?" Since Sokov took the initiative to mention that the city might fall into a siege, Witkov asked, "I wonder how long it will last?"

"The original material reserve is enough for our division to use for three months." Sidolin said from the side: "But when the troops sent to us by the superior arrive, these materials may only last forty days."

"Do you need to ask your superiors for supplies?" Witkov asked.

"Even if we make such an application to our superiors, I am afraid that there is not enough capacity to meet our needs." Sokov said with a wry smile: "By the time the supplies arrive, the battle here will probably be over long ago."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin," considering that Witkov is now his chief of staff, if he calls Sidolin the chief of staff again, it may cause confusion, so Sokov calls Sidolin by military rank: "Give the staff immediately The boss will arrange a place to stay, he must be tired after flying for so long, let him have a good rest."

…………

Early the next morning, Sivakov and Egorov, also under the protection of the guard platoon, rushed to the cluster headquarters by car and reported to Sokov and Witkov.

After saluting each other, Sivakov and Sokov gave a warm hug and said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, I really didn't expect that we could fight together again."

"In addition to your division, the troops that have been incorporated into the combat group together, there is also Merkulov's 67th Guards Division." Sokov took Sivakov to the wall, pointed to the map and said to him: "They The division is responsible for the defense in the south of the city, while your division is stationed in the north of the city."

After accepting the task, Sivakov said with some regret: "It's a pity that Makarenko didn't join this time, otherwise our original troops would be complete."

From Sivakov's tone, Sokov heard that the other party seemed to know something about Makarenko, so he asked curiously: "Comrade Colonel, do you know how Makarenko is doing recently? They were going to be organized into a combat group, but then something happened and they were temporarily replaced by the 75th Guards Division."

"As far as I know, the 321st Infantry Division of Major General Makarenko will soon be reorganized into the 82nd Guards Division." Sivakov replied, "They will be transferred to Leningrad in the near future. On the 18th, a narrow land passage leading to the city was established, and they will, together with the troops there, completely crush the enemies besieging the city."